I Want to Get into Nursing but Don't Know Where to Go.

Dear C.,
First, it's great that you are determined to have a career. I, too, went back to nursing school after having my first child. It is not easy, but certainly do-able. I would strongly recommend getting an RN from the community college nearest you that offers it. You will be much more versatile and find more job offers that pay well by doing the RN vs. the LVN, even though it may be a bit tougher program.

First thing is to go talk with the community college nursing dept. and see what their prerequisites are to entering the nursing program. They are much cheaper and better quality courses than the career college route, which (you guessed it) is expensive! The department or counselors can tell you which classes you can usually take one at a time while you are still working. Once you start the program, though, it is full time for two years--but there has been a fair amount of money made available for scholarships and grants to people just like you who want to go into nursing, so you may be able to just work part-time (I worked as a nurse's aide during weekends when I was in school, and took on more hours during the summer).

The best thing about nursing is its flexibility. For four years when my children were young, I worked 24 hours a week on the evening shift and only paid for 10 hours of childcare each week. My husband has always said that he got the best "daddy experience" of anyone he knows, because he was as much their caretaking parent as I was, doing the dinner, bath, homework check and reading before bed each night I worked. My kids, both grown now, remember that and love that he was as much their comfort parent as I was when they were little. Some people find it easier to go to night shift when their kids are in school, others to day shift and a more conventional lifestyle, but it's a job that you can work at less than full-time and still make good money, which makes it worth not being at home. If you decide you don't like what you are doing, there are so many other options of places or types of work as a nurse that you cannot get bored unless you are afraid to change.

Another really great thing about doing it with a child is you are teaching him that education requires some sacrifice, but is worth doing in the end.

Good luck! There are far too few nurses training now to take care of all of us as we age--and it's a job where you make a difference in someone's life almost every day you go in to work.
Cheers,
N.

Nursing is a great profession and we need more nurses. I am a nurse practitioner and have been a nurse for 25 years. Sit down and carefully consider all options and what you think you want to do as a nurse. If you want to work in a hospital (usually pays the best), go for the RN, not LVN. In my experience LVNs in the hospital comes & goes. Sometimes hospitals will use them other times they would prefer RNs because they can leagally do more. If you decide on RN, then decide on an associate degree or bachelors degree. Either degree will get you at the bedsie in the hospital. My concerns about an associate degree are two. (Please note I haven't looked into programs in years) I know many think the associate degree (community college) is faster and cheaper. I am not sure about that. I hear there are alot of prerequesites for the nursing program and then you do the nursing piece. In a bachelor's program it's all together. So it is not clear to me that it is faster and you leave with a degree that is limiting. With a bachelor's degree you have many more options for employment. Many of us believed we would always stay at the bedside and then things happen that change your mind. I had one collegue who loved bedside nursing and would never leave it. She broke her back skiing and could not work at the bedisde for five years. Luckily she had a bachelor's, so she was able to work in case management (the position requires a bachelor's) at the same hospital for those five years and then went back to her first choice - bedside nursing. Many of us leave school thinking we would never want an advanced degree. Later we realize we want the degree to be able to do other things. I love being a neonatal nurse practitioner, which requires a masters. It's much harder to decide you need the masters and have to go back to school for the bachelors and then the masters. It's possible, just harder. So my advice go for the RN and go for the bachelor's. It will be hard for a few years, but you will have more options for work in the long run. As new kinds of positions are created in the hospital they are all requiring bachelor's or masters. By the way you are not too old. Many entering nursing now are older and if we need to work until our 60-70's, you have a lot of time left. Good luck to you.

Hello C.,

I would start by calling a local community college, preferably one with a pre-nursing program, and making an appointment to talk to an advisor. The advisor can tell you what you need to take, and how long you will need. I would stay away from the private programs, but if you want to be an LVN, I think Berkeley Adult School has a program that will get you an LVN in a year. I also think that Kaiser Permanente may pay part of your RN tuition if you agree to work there after you get your RN.

Finally, you're only 24. You're not really running out of time.

Take care, and good luck!

E.

I had the same problem that you are in now. My daughter is turning 5 and I am 36 and I just recently went back to school. No, you are not too old and don't pressure yourself by thinking that you are running out of time. Everything, they say, happens for a reason. I kept trying to go back, but always thought that it would be hard with a full time job, single mom, daughter w/ activities and she is not in Kindergarten. I also thought that I would not be able to finish and afford school and still have money to pay the mortgage, and all the other monthly obligations that the mailman keeps bringing! :)

I finally decided to buck up and swallow the fact that I needed financial assistance. I researched the colleges and decided that online or distance learning was what will work for me the best. Once I found the college/university that I could attend, I went to FAFSA - it's a Federal Financial Aid website to see what I would qualify for. I was able to receive some money from Pell Grant and the rest were in Student Loans, some were subsidized, the rest were unsubsidized. You have about 10 years to pay for these loans, but obviously, start paying the unsubsidized ones as soon as you are able. They'll do the math for you and show you what your monthly loan re-payment will be.

I have a total of 4 classes this quarter/semester, 16 units, along w/ the rest of the things that I already have. IT'S VERY CHALLENGING! I don't always have the time to do my work, but when I do, I double up and do as much advanced work as I possibly can so that I don't have the added concern of getting my work on time. I chose South University, Savannah Campus, all online. My recruite was GREAT! I even have financial aid and student counselors as well as web support! They offer Nursing Programs, in case you were wondering. :) I like that the programs are only 5 1/2 wks long so I don't get bored and don't have time to get lazy! :) They are on a quarter system, including summers, 11 weeks/quarter, total of 4 classes /quarter is what you can take. I do suggest that you take one to start, then 2 on the second half of the quarter so that you can get a feel 1st, then see if you are able to take on more classes with all the things that you have to do in your daily routine.

My advice is that you look to see what services you have available that you can qualify for including scholarships. I bought a book for that as well as going to FastWeb.com for scholarship infos. I'm on track to finish my Bachelors's in 2 years, and have started my research on Master's Program and Golden Gate University! :) I'm on the roll now, I want to capitalize on that. I look at my daughter for inspiration and continued strength to keep moving forward and complete my education. I want to be the role model for her when it comes to never foresaking education. Go on line and research schools, find the best fit for you, look for free money, then if you have to, take out student loans. Once you complete your degree and is gainfully employed, you'll have no problem re-paying your student loan! :) I'm looking at about $40,000 when all is said and done, but hey, it's a small price to pay for a more secure future, right?! Good luck!

Good for you for looking to the future! Nursing is a wonderful career. My grandmother was a nurse and so is my aunt. I don't really know for sure, but maybe you can look into doing a few years of your schooling on line. I know a couple of attorneys who did law school on line and they are just as good an understanding of the law as the ones who physically went to law school. On-line courses are usually less expensive, there is financial aid available and you can do it in the evenings or on weekends as time permits. That way you can move as fast or slow as your schedule with allow. Good luck! You already have a full plate but you're young and it sounds like determined and I'm sure you can do it if it's truly what you want!

I ma a nurse and got my degree at Sonoma State. Dont go to wester shcool, its not very well respected. I would work part time and take your pre req's at a JC. You cna work the whole time. your last year of nursing school you will probably have to quit as clinical is hard. good luck. go for your bsn, its way better! Great carrerr chioce!

I would suggest getting your degree from a community college. The cost is a lot less then Western or Heald. It may take you a little longer. The San Mateo Community College District has a nursing program at College of San Mateo. The website is www.smccd.net

C.,

I am a full time mother working in admissions at Western Career College and i can share with you some details on our programs. We offer the flexability to come to school in the evenings. Classes run from Monday to Thurs. 5:30 to 10PM, you'll be done in 10months! We help our students with job placement assistance which is really wonderful! I do not work under comission so please don't think I'm trying to sell you but I really believe we have a real good support system. Please contact me for further information, I would be happy to help you, it'll be a sacrifice but one that will be worth it and rewarding to your future!!

P.S You may want to start off looking into Medical Assistants...more hospitals are not hiring LVNs and normally are only found in care-homes which can sometimes be very depressing and the pay is not good at all. This is what I've heard from our nurse instructors.
S. ###-###-####

I don't know where you are at, but you might look at your local community college. Lots of community colleges have nursing or pre-nursing programs to get you started, and they are MUCH cheaper than Heald, etc. You might also be able to quickly get a certificate in something like home health care so that you can start working in the field. There are also a number of other options shorter than RN - radiologic technologist, etc. You might want to go talk to a counselor at a CC to get a better idea of the options.

As to the doing well or not thing. I used to teach in a community college myself, and I can tell you that there are lots of students who have been full time moms, worked full time and gone to school and been successful. So it is possible - but it is definitely hard. If you are willing to put in the long days (and nights), it can be done. But don't take too many classes at once - 2 or 3 is enough. The main thing is to be organized, ask for help when you need it, and the make the commitment. HTH and good luck.

There is a website that has alot of information called choosenursing (www.choosenursing.com). Prior to choosing a school you want to go to the Board of Registered Nurses and look at their list of accredited schools. There are many schools out there who offer a program but are not accredited and you are unable to take your boards once you complete the program.

Also look into the nursing school pre requisites. There are science and math courses that are required and getting those taken care of puts you in a better position when applying to nursing schools. It may take a few trys to get into nursing school, because there is a shortage of qualified staff to teach so admission is limited.

I hope this is helpful.